THE Isle of Man’s Japanese TV sensation Rebecca Flint is to be featured in a BBC documentary to be broadcast tonight (Thursday).
A film crew came to the Island to spend a week with the 14-year-old to tell the story of how an ordinary Manx schoolgirl who in Japan becomes Beckii Cruel, a teen icon and an internet sensation.
Rebecca Flint became famous as “Beckii” in Japan after uploading films of herself dancing on You Tube which she did secretly, without telling her parents. This intimate documentary has exclusive access to her as it explores the real world of Beckii and the other British teenage girls who hope to become famous in Japan.
Beckii's breakthrough posting attracted almost half a million internet hits and showed her miming an eccentric Japanese dance called danjo. Beckii was then approached by a Japanese music manager who quickly helped her to take Japan by storm.
Since August 2009 she has recorded five singles, released her own DVD and appeared on Japan's biggest TV shows. Now she wants success in the UK and there are a lot of businessmen ready to help her crack the teen market.
Despite getting the fame every girl is supposed to dream of, life is not easy for this 14-year-old. Being a child doing a job in a very adult world isn't always fun and games. Balancing two different lives on opposite sides of the world is tricky, and wrestling with the consequences of a mainly male Japanese fan base can be embarrassing, especially if you've never even had a boyfriend.
The film explores the fascinating world of Japanese anime and manga - crazes that grip millions in Japan and tens of thousands here – and shows that other girls see Beckii's success and decide they too might like to be big in Japan. But although getting famous seems as simple as uploading a crazy dance, the implications of being famous at 14 are anything but straightforward.
The programme ("Beckii - Schoolgirl Superstar at 14") will be screened on BBC Three at 9pm tonight (Thursday) and repeated again at 11.45pm. Editor Ellena Wood. Producer Satnam Authi
